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I am a part time college English instructor and a shop owner. Located in Cape May County, NJ, we are seasonal, but I am open weekends year round (if the weather permits...aka snow/ice!). You can email me... dutchrose@comcast.net

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Sunday, July 26, 2015

This proverb actually dates to Kelly's Scottish Proverbs, Collected and Arranged in 1721. I remember hearing it all the time when I was young if I would wish for anything! I think wishes are crucial...how many of you have wished upon a star? Like Pinocchio...When you wish upon a star / Makes no difference who you are / Anything your heart desires / Will come to you...

So, wishing is today's theme and the wishing well planters that were popular in the late 1940s and 1950s. Here is a different McCoy planter...here is the horse for the beggar!

Then, this is the well-known wishing well planter from McCoy...

I do like the theme planters...this is not a well...but a mill...still there is a color palette that makes them compatible.

But, the wishing well actually has a historic origin. Before indoor plumbing, water filters, and "Brita", underground streams provided clear fresh water.

The Celts and Germanic people thought these streams and springs had healing powers, but they could be guarded by unfriendly spirits. If a water source was found, the landowner or community would erect a wood or stone structure around the source with a roof to keep debris out of the water. Some had a statue or carving nearby for protection from bad spirits. I imagine the well was a gathering place like the office water cooler.

The belief that a wish spoken over the water asking for a blessing from the spirits would come true.

Silver or copper coins were tossed to the spirits for good luck or help....see even the spirits wanted cash! Actually the coins helped. Copper and silver had chemicals that neutralized harmful bacteria, including those that caused the sulfur "rotten-egg" smell.

A well in Northumberland, England, dedicated to Covetina, the Celic goddess of wells and springs, had 16,000 coins of different eras of the Roman Empire. The coins were comparable to nickels and dimes not bigger denominations.

Another well in Oxford, England, had pieces of clothing not coins. The Well of Pen Rhys was supposed to have healing powers so people tossed buttons, pins, and clothing that might carry disease into the well.

The most popular place for tossing money and wishing is probably the Trevi Fountain in Rome which was built as the ending point of an aquaduct called Virgo, the goddess who would guide soldiers to water when they were thirsty and tired. Tossing a coin in or taking a drink from the fountain was supposed to guarantee good health. Now, if you toss a coin over your shoulder into the fountain means one day you will return to Rome.

"Three coins in the fountain Through the ripples how they shine Just one wish will be granted Just one heart will wear a valentine Make it mine! Make it mine! Make it mine!"

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Do you know that Kleenex tissues were developed because women initially were not happy with Kotex, the personal hygiene product that Kimberly-Clark developed? In the early 1920s, the company had "creped wadding" leftover from WWI surgical dressings, and, even though Kotex eventually was marketed well, the company decided they had to do something with all of the creped wadding or cellucotton as it was known later on.

The company needed to find other ways to use the creped wadding (I love that label). Changing the ingredient blends and using different pulps, scientists were able to make a softer crepe, and, from this, the idea of Kleenex® facial tissue was born.

According to Kleenex, the creative team decided to market the tissues for cleansing since cosmetics were starting to sell well. It seems that women had a "cold cream towel" that hung in 1920s bathrooms. That would account for all the plain cotton towels that show up in estate sales.

Kleenex did not become the tissue for colds and allergies until the 1930s. One of the administrators did not like the idea, but he finally committed a small amount of ad space to use Kleenex as a handkerchief. In 1930s, the slogan "Don't Put a Cold in Your Pocket" ushered in the tissue as a disposable handkerchief.

The original Kleenex trademark application was filed in the class of Medical, Beauty, & Agricultural Services by Cellucotton Products Company of Neenah, Wisconsin in July, 1924. The description provided was for "ABSORBENT PADS OR SHEETS FOR REMOVING COLD CREAM."

International Cellucotton Products Company officially assigned trademark interest and good will of the business to Kimberly-Clark Corporation on September 30, 1955. Kimberly-Clark Corporation of Neenah, Wisconsin is the current registered owner of the Kleenex trademark.

For many, Kleenex is not necessarily a brand name but a generic label for any facial tissue. Many dictionaries define it as such also. Before the boxes became "decorator", the box was fairly plain, and so in the 1950s home decor movement, the tissue boxes you now see in vintage shops, thrift stores, and flea markets made tissues easy to access.

These are two I found...pure 50s plastic...and a tole painted one also...

Both have holes in the back so they can be hung on the bathroom wall...you can see the holes on this one...

Now, you know a little history of that tissue that you leave in your jean pocket when you do laundry!

Sunday, July 12, 2015

"Evening in Paris" is a phrase that, for many, connects to a perfume although I would gladly spend an evening in Paris with or without perfume! There are certain products though that are iconic in this vintage world...and Evening in Paris perfume is one such product. From this week's finds...

Ernest Beaux of Bourjois Paris developed the scent in 1928, and it became an instant success in the US. In 1929 it was marketed in Paris as Soir de Paris, It was the favorite fragrance of World War II, and it was a worn by women worldwide. Mais Oui ("But yes!") was another perfume from the same company.

Evening in Paris was attractively packaged in gift boxes, some in the shape of
stars, sailor's hats or a crescent moon. These special gift sets were often for
sale around Christmas, Mother's Day and Easter.

The set I have in the shop has the silver wrapping below so it was probably a gift set.

It is possible to find the various novelties for the perfume made up of blue
marbled Bakelite, white plastic or light green plastic. You might come across
the horseshoes, a clam shell, a hotel door, a shoe, the grandfather clock, an
owl or very rarely the Eiffel Tower or the Marble Arch presentations from the
1950s.

During the 1940s, there were wartime presentations and all
packaging bears the following statement: "This is a temporary Victory package.
The contents are unchanged."

Chanel now owns Bourjois, and Evening in Paris was reformulated in
1992 by Chanel's leading perfumers. The result was a sweet, smooth, creamy,
slightly wood based fragrance known as "The Most Popular Fragrance in the
World." The newly formulated perfume is still for sale today.

The bottles were sold from the 1920s-1960s, and their bottles changed very
little, but their labels can tell us a great deal about when they were produced.
The majority of bottles are cobalt blue glass, but there were also clear glass
and gilded glass examples to be found.

My research uncovered the history of the various bottles and packaging.

Silver triangle labels on
cobalt bottles:During the 1920s
to the 1940s, most of the labels were triangular shaped. The 1920s and 1930s saw
bottles with frosted glass stoppers, these generally had cork ends. The 1940s
bottle had metal and cork stoppers. (see pic on the right)

Silver
curved label on cobalt glass:
In the 1930s, the bottle appeared with this
curved label; later on in the 1950s, gold labels appeared on clear, gilded and
cobalt bottles.

Silver rectangle labels on cobalt
bottles:
During the 1940s, silver rectangular labels were used as well as
silvery metal screw caps. There was also an instance of thin silver labels
across the bottom front of the bottle, noting Evening in Paris in script. (see
pics 1 and 2)

Gold labels on cobalt or clear glass:
These began
appearing in the late 1940s-early 1950s. (see pic 3)Gilded glass
bottles:
Bottles with a gilded or silvery finish first appeared in the
late 1940s, and continued into the 1950s.

V shaped silver labels on cobalt glass:
These v-shaped
labels started appearing in the 1960s, easy to date because of the zip code
found on labels. (see pic 5)

Gold screw caps:
Date your bottle
to after late 1940s and into the 1950s.

Bullet shaped cobalt purse flacons:
First appearing in the
1920s, they continued to be added to gift sets well into the 1950s. Older
examples have black Bakelite caps and tassels.
(see pic 6)

Now you can see how much history is inside a bottle of Evening in Paris!

“Perfume is magic. It’s mystery. We recreate the smell of a flower. Of wood. Of grass. We capture the essence of life. Liquefy it. We store memories. We make dreams,” he told her once. “What we do is a wonder, an art, and we have a responsibility to do it well.”

Sunday, July 5, 2015

Even though summer officially starts June 21, the Fourth of July marks the true summer opening, but, whenever, flower, herb, and veggie gardens command attention. With that in mind, I turn to the watering can. Below in an illustration from The Compleat Florist written by Louis Liger in 1706.

Liger (1658–1717) was a French agronomist and prolific writer on flora and fauna.

The name ‘Watering Can’ first appeared in 1692 when Lord Timothy George of Cornwall wrote about watering cans in his diary. Before that and after 1580 when it first appeared, the term ‘Watering Pot’ was used according to the Oxford English Dictionary. Pots had holes in the bottom at first before the idea of a spout was invented some 50 to 100 years later. Early cans were made in copper and then in 1850 iron, brass and zinc cans appeared.

The watering can we know today was the design by John Haws, a civil servant for Queen Victoria.

His hobby was growing vanilla plants, and he found the watering can hard to maneuver. The style of the time had a handle that arched from the front to the back of the can making it hard to balance while watering plants on higher shelves.

When Haws retired, he realizes the Victorian gardening revolution demanded hand watering. The wealthy upper class were erecting glass greenhouses throughout England, and greenhouse cultivation demanded better watering techniques. So, in 1885, he was issued the first patent on a watering can.

His patent claimed: “This new invention forms a Watering Pot that is much easier to carry, and at the same time being much cleaner, and more adapted for use than any put before the public.” According to my research, "the key innovation his Haws design was the addition of a second handle. The previous French design had just one large front to back handle. However, Haws design had a “carrying” handle on top and a “tipping” handle on the back of the can to allow a more even distribution of water and his design also called for a spout located at the bottom of the watering can to allow for easier watering of plants on high shelves."

The Haws watering can is still popular today although Michael Deas got a later patent by replacing the top mounted handle created by Haws and mounting a single round handle at the back for ease of pouring. The slight improvement took off and is still a popular design that is seen today. By the way, the cap on the spout is called a "rose".

So now when you see a watering "pot", check the handle!

“Plants want to grow; they are on your side as long as you are reasonably sensible.”